The seven ages of Steve Jobs

Day one: Steve Jobs (right) with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak on the day they founded the company, working the "Errol Flynn and a hobbit" look that was all the rage in '76. Note the intense glare and moustache: pre-requisites for any serious geeks looking to take over the Valley. Photograph: PR

The Alan Sugar years: After the biggest stock flotation in history made the two Steves super-rich, they were now bona fide businessmen. And, as any MBA will tell you, that's shorthand for "a snappy 1980s suit and eradication of any unsightly facial hair, please".

Eagle-eyed fans continue to wonder whether Jobs is wearing any trousers with his suit: the enigmatic smile on the face of the Japanese woman featured on the Mac screen is giving nothing away.

Photograph: PR

Jobs, PI: As time marched on, the moustache made a comeback - rumours that he was going to ditch Silicon Valley for the San Fernando Valley proved unfounded.

Jobs not only sports the pioneering flannel look that dominated geekdom for years; he also shows lip-jewellery purloined from Tom Selleck's Hawaii-based detective Thomas Magnum.

Photograph: PR

Out in the cold: After being ousted from the company he founded in 1985, Jobs went on to start another computer firm, NeXT. His frosty mental state is perhaps reflected by the austere attire: a moody, sleek black suit that showed he meant business - and is weirdly reminiscent of a French politician or a character from a Fellini film. Photograph: AP

Back from the wilderness: Reinstated as the boss of Apple, Jobs 2.0 (shown here in 1998) emerged from hibernation with woodsman beard and hamster cheeks.

Perhaps, like George Best or Wayne Rooney going through a goalless spell, he refused to shave until he was able to drop the title of interim CEO. Perhaps he'd just been watching too many Grizzly Adams episodes.

Note the arrival of the signature black shirt and blue jeans combo; the classic Jobsian fashion statement.

Photograph: Susan Rogan/AP

Star Trek style: With the funky-looking iMac bringing lots of attention his way, Jobs clearly decided to opt for a futuristic sartorial style. (cue jokes: "Boom me up!").

However, the high-necked white shirt and dark suit combo disappeared quickly - perhaps returned to the wardrobe department of a low-budget science fiction movie?

Photograph: John G Mabanglo/AFP

The veteran: With Apple's success secured, Jobs has now adopted what can only be described as a war veteran look. Lean and mean with close-cropped hair and shadowy stubble, he is pimping himself as a technology ninja. Here, for example, he is demonstrating one of the 327 ways he can kill a man with an iPhone. Photograph: Paul Sakuma/AP